Amene, Zeller Advance to Event Finals on Day Two of the B1G Outdoor Championships

Amene, Zeller Advance to Event Finals on Day Two of the B1G Outdoor Championships

Location:Bloomington, Ind. (Billy Hayes Track & Field Complex)
Incident:2023 Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships (Day 2 of 3)
UM Results:8th of 11 teams (21 points) after Day 2
Next UM Events: Sunday, May 14 — in the Big Ten Outdoor Championships – Day Three (Bloomington, Ind.), 11 a.m.

Complete Results(PDF) | Photo gallery

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Ec Amin And Joshua Zeller advanced to the finals of their respective event as the University of Michigan men’s track and field team closed day two of action in the Big Ten Outdoor Championships Saturday (May 13) at the Billy Hayes Track & Field Complex on the Indiana campus.

Amene proved his skills in the 400 meters by winning the heat in the Michigan top ten in a time of 46.09 to advance to the final on Sunday (May 14). The junior handled the race like a seasoned pro, comfortably beating Iowa’s Connor Belkin. Amene placed second in the final of the 2022 Outdoor 400-meter Championships Big Ten and is set to fight for his first of the season. After winning the 400 meter dash this season indoors, she looks set to capture both titles. Amene joins his teammates Jacob Korner, Lawrence GilliamAnd Jack Juds in the preliminary round. Koerner continued the trend of upward growth, hitting a career-best time of 47.52 to finish eleventh overall. Gilliam took nineteenth in 48.25 while Juds took twenty-five in 50.50.

Defending 110 meter hurdles champion Zeller returned to the track Saturday and is proving his dominance in the event. After missing the start of the outdoor season, Zeller entered the heats with just two meetings. However, the Big Ten and school record holder won his heat and placed second overall with a time of 13.50 – the second best grade in program history. Zeller advanced to the event final Sunday (May 14) to take home another title.

In a steep horse race, Jack spammers And Caleb Jarema racking up points for the Wolverines, finishing sixth and eighth respectively. Spamer and Jarema were able to stay at the front early on, running side by side for the early laps. As the race drifted apart, the pair held their ground with Spamer (9:01.34) finishing for three points and Jarema (9:03.66) for one. It was a major accomplishment for Jarema, who was competing in her first Outdoor Big Ten championship as a freshman, as well as an upgrade for Spamer, who finished seventeenth in the event in 2022. The pairing was also followed by Colton Yesney And Michael Hancock in an event; Yesney finished sixteenth in 9:29.86 while Hancock finished nineteenth in 9:56.96.

At a distance of 800 meters, Cole Johnson, Henry Johnson, Thomas Shilgalis And Derrick Simmons all competed in tryouts for a shot at the event final. Henry Johnson just missed out on the final qualifying spot after a photo finish with Penn State’s Oliver Desmeules. Upon review, last place went to Desmeules by three thousandths of a second, blocking Wolverine from advancing. Cole Johnson finished eleventh, also ran a strategic race and finished in 1:50.20. Shilgalis and Simmons took eighteenth and twenty-fourth respectively, with Shilgalis running 1:51.10 and Simmons running 1:51.74.

Mason Mahacek finished fourth overall in the decathlon. After ten grueling events. Mahacek’s final score was 7,560 points – a career best and all-time number five for Michigan. The finish earned five points for the Wolverines team score. His pole vault performance was the best of his career as he covered 4.90 meters (16 ft, 0.75 in). In the 1,500 meters, the senior finished in 4:34.94, coming within a tenth of a second behind Wisconsin’s Quinn Lansill. She also had a career best in the 110 meter hurdles, where she finished in 15.42 seconds, placing seventh.

In the field, Zane Forist And Aiden Felty compete in shot put. They finished eighteenth and twenty-third respectively. Although neither advanced to the final, Forist’s performance in his Big Ten Outdoor Championships debut saw the newcomer throw 16.98 meters (55 feet, 8.5 inches) on his best shot of the day. Felty also saw progress with a best throw of 17.55 meters (57 feet, 7 inches), which became a new career best for a senior.

New students Luke Stowasser And Jack’s Wall also made their outdoor championship debut. While their performance did not go as expected, Stowasser passed 1.95 (6 feet, 4.75 inches) meters in the high jump to take twenty second place. Unfortunately, Wall fouled in the long jump. Ryan McCloskey closed out his Michigan career in the 100-metre clearing, clocking 10.77 to take twenty seconds.

The Wolverines enter the final day of the 2023 Big Ten Outdoor Championship tomorrow (May 14), with the action kicking off at 11​am